Former Sen. Ben Sasse defended the Senate filibuster in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published July 19, arguing that the procedural rule “provides a bulwark against consolidated power” and remains essential to American governance despite calls from some Republicans to eliminate it.
Writing under the headline “America Needs the Filibuster,” Sasse contended that while the rule is not part of the Constitution, it plays a critical role in limiting and dividing power. “Via procedural requirements to secure a supermajority of 60 votes before legislation can be passed, the filibuster safeguards the spirit of the Constitution’s anti-consolidation objective,” he wrote, according to The Hill.
Sasse’s op-ed arrived amid intensifying pressure from President Trump and some GOP lawmakers to scrap the filibuster to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, a voting restrictions bill. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly stated there are insufficient votes among Republicans to eliminate the rule.
The former Nebraska senator, who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer, argued that eliminating the filibuster would transform the Senate into “another House of Representatives” and enable dramatic policy swings with each election. “The filibuster prevents the dramatic pendulum swings that are the natural result of simple-majority lawmaking,” Sasse wrote. “Every election and every vote becomes an existential crisis in a system that no longer plods through checks and balances but instead rushes to European-style referenda.”
Sasse dismissed claims that high-stakes legislation cannot pass without eliminating the filibuster, saying that removing it would instead create “a never-ending cascade of doom-peddlers telling Americans our best days are behind us unless we secure 51 immediate votes for their golden legislative ticket.”
The debate over the filibuster has intensified as Republicans seek to advance voting legislation. During a Fox & Friends interview last week, Trump called the 60-vote threshold “so insane” and urged Republicans to end it, warning of a potential government shutdown in September if the rule remained in place.
Sasse concluded his essay by arguing that preserving the filibuster depends on the public embracing what he called a “one cheer for politics” ethos—accepting incremental progress rather than demanding immediate victories. “America’s public square needs a recovery,” he wrote. “That depends on regular folks showing up, affirming a ‘one cheer for politics’ ethos, rolling their eyes at jeremiads, laughing at apocalypse pornographers, and gratefully celebrating 250 years and counting. All of these become less likely if we foolishly eliminate the filibuster.”
Sources
- Wall Street Journal — Sasse’s op-ed “America Needs the Filibuster,” published July 19, 2026, defending the Senate’s 60-vote supermajority rule as a check on consolidated power.
- The Hill — Coverage of Sasse’s op-ed, including direct quotes about the filibuster’s role in limiting power and preventing political extremism.
